In Tribute, I Offer My Soul
by Lillielle
Summary: Disclaimer: I own nothing. Very AU. Bellatrix/Luna. Warning for torture, dubious consent, etc. It was a chance encounter in the Ministry, but Luna can't stop thinking about Bellatrix...and likewise.


_A/N: AU. Very dark. Dark! Luna. Warning for dark arts, torture, character death, dubious consent, coercion, etc._

_Pairing: Bellatrix/Luna._

_And may all the world burn._

A single moment. Did you know that? A single moment is all it takes to change history...

* * *

The door slammed shut on Neville's heels, right in Luna's face. She stopped, panting, fear just starting to trickle in past the adrenaline, as she heard the rush of Death Eaters approaching. So close, so close, and yet so far. Her fists slammed against the door, but the knob had already melted into the wood, and not even _Alohomora_ made the slightest dent in the damned thing. She was trapped.

"Now what have we here?" Bellatrix crooned, nearly right in her ear. Luna jumped, whirling, her wand coming up, though she knew it was ultimately futile. "A little _girl_, is that it? A little girl, all on her own? Are you _lost_, little girl?" A cackle escaped Bellatrix's throat as she came into full view, her cloak swirling around her emaciated body. Luna swallowed hard, her throat dryer than she could ever remember it.

"Oh, shut it, Bella," Lucius Malfoy said wearily, looking more drawn than Luna had ever seen him. "It's that Lovegood chit. Loony or something, was it?"

"Luna," Luna spoke up, politely yet defiantly. "My name's Luna. Not Loony."

"Whatever," Lucius flapped a white-gloved hand at her, making her inwardly seethe. "She doesn't have the blasted prophecy. Potter does."

"Indeed, indeed," Bellatrix giggled. "You go ahead, Lucy. I'll just stay here with _Luna._" Her hand darted out and caressed Luna's cheek, soft as a whisper's touch, leaving Luna blinking in confusion and surprise.

"I won't help you," Luna said quietly, but Bellatrix only laughed once more, her fingers threading through Luna's hair as she tugged the girl closer, the tip of her wand an ever-present threat at the hollow of Luna's throat.

"Silly girl," Bellatrix hissed in her ear. "So-innocent to the way of the world, are you not? What a pretty thing you are. It would be an absolute _pleasure_ to break you."

Luna blinked at the madwoman, breathing in tiny sips and doing her best to appear as placid as possible. Apparently, that was the wrong reaction.

"What, no response?" Bellatrix mocked, tugging her hair until Luna squeaked in surprise and pain.

"Oh, I have one," Luna said calmly, managing to wiggle just enough backwards that Bellatrix's wand was pointed more up between them than anywhere else. She flicked her wand up. "Stupefy!"

The jet of red light hit Bellatrix squarely in the chest, and the woman sagged backward, her fingers thankfully uncurling from Luna's hair. She catapulted herself over the Death Eater's body, disappearing into the shattered prophecies, a shadow amongst shadows, save for the slight moonlight glimmer of her hair.

And that was it, really. Bit anti-climactic, Luna thought later, resting in the Hospital Wing with most of the other remnants of the DA. Madam Pomfrey had diagnosed her as dealing with shock, and admonished her to stay in bed. She had no intentions of leaving, of course, and yet...she couldn't stop thinking about Bellatrix.

In a way, she supposed that was natural. It had been a near-death experience, after all, and weren't you supposed to focus more on the details that went into those? Certainly she could remember the tiniest of details from the day her mother died, from the mist on the windowpane, to the way the wisteria blooms in the vase on the mantelpiece bobbed when the cauldron exploded.

So was it any wonder she could recall how wild Bellatrix's curls were about her too sharp-boned face, the way the tip of the woman's wand felt, nestled against her throat, nearly burning her? The exhalation of breath against her ear as the Death Eater spoke, taunted her...complimented her? Luna wasn't accustomed to being thought pretty. Her hair was a bit too straggly, her eyes a bit too wild. Her features slightly too out of proportion to be considered anything approaching conventional.

But Bellatrix thought her pretty...

It was a thought that wouldn't leave, no matter how hard she wished it, and so for the moment, Luna gave up. She was sure that it would deal with itself, anyway. It always did. There was nothing to concern herself with, and soon enough, she fell asleep, her rest too deep for dreams.


End file.
